Alasdair had the upper hand as he battled the laird, advancing forward a step at a time while his adversary retreated, closer and closer to the end of the corridor until he finally had him where he wanted him. In a corner.
Chapter 37
Ursula’s plan had worked with the help of Eliza and Gladys, and later that night, the three entered the sisters’ family home, a comfortable cottage in Kyle of Lochalsh.
Once inside the door, their father rushed forward, grabbing each girl around the waist and squeezing them into a trio embrace, the girls squealing with delight.
“My bonnie lassies, how is it now that I can look upon your beautiful faces?” Then his gaze moved to Ursula. “Is this woman an angel of mercy?”
Ursula smiled. Perhaps she should have given the girls some privacy for their reunion, but their father opened his arms and motioned with his hands for her to join in the circle.
She blushed. As much as she was uncomfortable hugging anyone she did not know well, she ran into their arms and was sucked into the middle.
“You have brought my babies back to me,” their dad gushed, releasing his hold. “For this, I owe you a great debt.”
“Good sir.” She curtsied within the circle. “I am nae wholly responsible for your daughters’ freedom, for they are as responsible for mine.” She glanced back and forth between them. “Together we escaped.”
“Come,” their father said, breaking the circle and gesturing to his hearth. “Take a seat by the fire and tell me more. I suspect elements of danger, daring, and deviousness were involved.”
The girls chuckled, and they all followed him, Ursula taking up a stool next to the girls. When their father started to bow before he sat, Ursula waved him off with a tsk. She was considered a lady but was as comfortable sitting before a servant as she was before a king.
“Ursula, this is our father, Johnathan,” Eliza said with a tinge of pride in her voice.” Swiveling toward Ursula, she continued the introductions. “Father, this is Ursula, a healer and a—”
“Witch,” Ursula finished for Eliza.
“Magician, was what I was going to say.” Eliza gave Ursula a disgusted look, but her eyes were still smiling. Eliza was the younger of the two and the most demonstrative.
“Father,” Eliza moaned, standing up before the hearth as if taking the stage, pretending she had a broom in her hands, “we were put to work by the scullery maid. Sweeping the kitchen floor, cleaning the tables, and rinsing out the iron kettles. We had to finish all these chores before we could sneak out the back of the buttery.”
Her father’s eyes glowed with pride as he listened to every detail. With animated movements, Eliza continued. “Ursula knew a way out of the castle grounds through the courtyard and a break in the seawall. The plan we concocted was executed flawlessly. As proof, here we are before you.”
She giggled before she added, “You have nae even commented on how filthy and muddy we are.”
Her father could not stop smiling. “The mud will wash off, a wee trifle to contend with. I am giddy with glee to see my girls before me whole and alive.” He sniffed loudly. “The smell or the state of your dress does nae bother me,” he said with a hint of sarcasm.
Erica raised a damp sleeve to her nose and almost gagged after taking a whiff of it.
Her father roared with laughter. “You all shall have a proper bath in the morn.”
“Aye, to wash off the sea and the muck from wading to the shore. Ursula led us across, for we would ne’er had the courage to do it alone.”
All eyes turned on her, and although everyone was smiling, Ursula sobered. Her journey did not end here like the others.
Eliza must have sensed her change of mood, for she gave her a wink and turned to her father. “Da, when we agreed to the plan to help Ursula and ourselves escape from the MacDonalds, we also made a promise for you.”
His eyebrows rose at her words, but the smile stayed on his face. “I will hear you out. As I said when you walked in the door, I owe her a debt.”
Ursula started to protest, but Eliza put a finger over her lips to silence her eager objections. “A promise is a promise,” Eliza said sternly, then looked to her sister, who nodded her head profusely. “I have never broken a promise, and I’m not about to start now.”
Ursula nodded, and Eliza removed her finger, then turned to her father. “Da, we promised you would take Ursula to the faerie pools at Glenbrittle.”
The girl’s father rocked back in his chair and stared off into the hearth. For a long moment he was silent. Finally, he turned to Ursula. “’Tis no secret on Skye Isle the faeries mean more harm than good.”
Ursula wasn’t surprised at the commentary. She was well versed in the harm faeries could cause. The ones who inhabited Skye Isle were the darkest, most mysterious, and the least understood of all the faeries in the Highlands.
Unless you were from these parts, you feared them like the plague. But she would defend them nevertheless. “Aye, sir, they have their malice, but they also have their good. Many encounter only the bad, but remember, they retreated from the mainland to the glens on Skye Isle because of us.”
He was silent, and so were the girls. It had been a long time since she had walked the glen as a young girl with wonder and awe. The faeries needed defending. “There is always a price for power. It is the ignorant, the fool, who is enticed by the faeries’ offerings. Even though gold is not precious to the Fae, they understand that gold is precious to mortals.
“Those who are promised eternal life should know that it comes at a cost. Enslavement to a faerie is the exchange for the magic of a life with no death.”
“What you say bears merit, Ursula, but many of us have become fools under their spell. Perhaps you have special gifts that allow you to be immune to their mischief and magic.” He paused and looked up. “My wife was nae so lucky.”
Ursula’s heart went out to him. “She was taken by the Fae, good sir?”
“Call me Johnathan,” he insisted, his hands fidgeting in his lap. “The Fae took Eliza from her crib when she was barely a week old,” he began, glancing over to his daughter with watery eyes. “I had ridden out with the MacKenzie clan to defend Eilean Donan from the advancing MacDonalds. It had been their obsession to rule over that castle as long as I can remember.
“My wife, Molly, had been left alone many times before and had always been able to defend herself, so I did nae think there would be any danger for her and the girls.
“But all I know is what Gladys could tell me.” His attention drifted to the older girl, who immediately cast her gaze to the floor, her cheeks turning pink.
The silence was deafening for a few moments with the exception of the dry wood crackling in the hearth. Finally, in a timid voice, Gladys spoke up.
“I was only nine summers at the time Mama was taken by the faeries.” She sniffled and stopped.
Her father stood and walked to her side. “If you do nae want to talk about the story, we’ll end it here and now.”
Ursula reached over to pat Gladys’s hand. “Aye, the Fae have their pranks and mischief, but without warning, their actions can cause harm. You do nae need to recount the tale,” Ursula insisted.
Gladys shook her head. “’Twill help me to recount the story to someone who understands their magic. Perhaps you can help us understand why they are so evil.”
As much as she wanted to continue to defend the mysterious creatures of the glen, she needed to be respectful of the damage they’d done to this family. She could not reverse their deeds, but perhaps she could help these kind people understand the Fae ways.
“The faeries do not know what it is like to be human,” Ursula began. “They look upon us with curiosity. They cannot help but want to interact with us. The heather pixies do not mean harm. When they feel threatened, they la
sh out.”
“We didn’t invite them to our home. They invaded it,” Gladys defended, her eyes tearing up. “Four of them, with golden auras and translucent wings.” She paused, staring off beyond Ursula into her memories. “I wanted to touch them. They appeared friendly when they came in through the open windows,” Gladys told them with vacant eyes.
“They picked up the baby.” Her gaze moved to her sister, Eliza. “At first, I thought they might be angels coming to bless her, but when they handed my sister out the window, I rushed to wake mother.”
“The Fae love beauty and babies,” Ursula said.
Gladys gave Ursula a steely stare before she went on. “In moments, mother and I were out the door, not taking time to cover our shoulders with a cape or put slippers on our feet. We raced after the band of wee folk as they floated across the glen.” She blinked hard. “They were flying and taking my sister with them.” She choked on the words and shook her head, clearly unable to go on.
“I shall finish the story,” Johnathan said with a soft voice, stroking Gladys’s hair while he talked. “My wife, with young Gladys in tow, followed the faeries as long as they could until they lost them in the clouds.”
Gladys let out a whimper but raised her head. Eyes glazed over, she said, “Mama took me back to the cottage where we dressed properly for the weather. Although she wanted to leave me with the McCullums, I begged her to take me with her. Perhaps she knew all along what would happen,” Gladys admitted, then she put her head in her hands and began to sob.
Ursula held up her hand. It tore at her insides to see her new friend distraught and clearly in pain. “I have heard enough,” Ursula said, moving from her stool to kneel at Gladys’s feet.
The girl took Ursula’s hands and gazed into her eyes. “You must know the story. I must tell it,” she said.
“Go on,” Ursula urged from her spot at Gladys’s feet, trusting the act of sharing would allow for deeper healing.
“Mother knew where they’d go. The faerie pools at Glenbrittle. I did nae know the place, but I fear it now,” she admitted.
When Ursula squeezed Gladys’s hands, the girl appeared to gain the strength and courage she offered her.
“Once we found ourselves at the faerie pools, mother called out Eliza’s name. ’Twas mere moments afore a beautiful faerie materialized before us wearing long green robes of fern and a crown on her head made of golden vines.”
Ursula was shocked. The Faery Queen rarely surfaced unless answering a special call. The heather pixies were more mischievous than most of the Fae and delighted tricking humans whenever possible. Perhaps another faerie had posed as the queen? But she would not dispute Gladys’s account and nodded as the girl continued.
“My mother begged the queen for Eliza to be returned to her. Our family did nae have much in the way of land, but we had rare gold coins we’d inherited from the Viking side of our family. My mother offered them in exchange.
“But the faerie shook her head and said it was nae enough. Instead, the queen asked for an exchange, the baby for me.
“My mother had been desperate. Crying and pleading. She pushed me behind her skirts.
“Finally, my mother suggested another option, the gold and my mother’s service in exchange for the baby to be returned home with me, and a guide for our journey back.
“The faerie accepted, and that was the last time I set eyes on my mother, Molly.”
Chapter 38
Ethan was weary of walking. With no warhorse, he was forced to travel by foot. Yet that was no consequence at the moment, for a horse couldn’t tread on this landscape. The faerie glen was a maze of rounded grassy mounds interspersed with oddly shaped ponds.
After surviving the fall from the seawall, there had been little left to accomplish on Skye, except for hunting down Moaning Molly’s treasure.
With the MacDonalds’ rule of Eilean Donan and Ursula in the dungeon beyond his reach, Ethan focused on the directions Molly had given him to find the gold she’d promised was here for the taking. He’d promised himself to salvage something from this peculiar journey.
But he was not all heartless. He did regret having to abandon Ursula at Eilean Donan. But with no weapons and no contingent, what was a Luttrell lord to do? What would his father, Nicholas, do? Focus on acquisition of land or money.
As much as the Eilean Donan castle was legendary in the Highlands, Ethan had no further interest in tending a lairdship this far removed from civilized life. It may have been a haven for his mother, but he’d be content to let the MacDonalds and the MacKenzies battle it out.
Ursula would no doubt land on her feet, like the black cat sorceress she was. He’d tired of her after all. The chase had only become interesting because the damaged Highlander had appeared to take an interest in her.
He’d not been himself until the swim to shore and his found freedom. Even if he had to steal food and coin, he was resourceful when he had to be. But finding the treasure would fatten his purse. It would not only provide him with a horse and guided protection, but a victory for his trouble.
The wind picked up unexpectedly, tossing him forward as if pushed. He spun around, half expecting to find someone behind him. The only thing that greeted him was a bit of the sun trying to burn a hole though the foggy morning.
Ethan turned back to the path that led toward the water. A low cloud hung just above the ridge, hiding the Cuillin Hills from view.
Rocks covered in green moss and peat, along with heather growing in between, lined the stream that he followed. Directly before him was a low, rocky ridge worthy of climbing, if it were not for the waterfalls and crystal-blue pool below.
The closer he came to the faerie pools, the louder the sound became, the blue liquid rushing down the slick rock walls.
But then a loud hissing sound had Ethan frantically turning from side to side seeking its source. Before he found it, a mist materialized out of nowhere, forming a wall, blocking him from his progress. He’d not come this far to be stopped, so he walked into it.
As he crossed through the foggy mist, Ethan had the sense of being pushed into another time and place. It was as if the pools in front of him were invisible to the outside world.
“Are you brave or ignorant?”
The voice jolted Ethan from his illusions. He drew his sword. “Show yourself,” he demanded, turning in a half circle, ready for an attack.
“Brave and ignorant, I’d say,” a female voice chimed in.
“Show yourself,” Ethan said again, inching toward where the voices had come from.
“We are here in front of you,” the female voice answered.
“But because you are ignorant, you cannae see us,” said the other.
“Brave or ignorant does not matter for I am here to search for Molly’s treasure.”
The female voice let out a haughty laugh. “How do you proposed to find it if you are ignorant?”
Ethan had not expected his search to be impeded by spirts, or faeries, or whatever these aberrations were who chose to interrogate him. His goal was to find the treasure and leave this desolate place as soon as possible, so he would do his best to trick these spirits.
“How can I be ignorant if I know a treasure exits here? Otherwise, you would have told me there was no treasure.”
“There is no treasure here,” the male voice screeched.
“Leave me be, and I’ll ascertain that for myself.” He advanced with his sword battle ready, determined to get to the pool and begin the trek around to the hidden cavern Molly had told him about.
But before he made it to the water’s edge, something shoved his shoulder. The force was strong, and it made him stumble forward, almost dropping his sword. Once he regained his footing, Ethan wheeled around with his sword leading his movement.
“He’s ig
norant if he thinks that sword will do him any good,” the female voice said.
“We’ve already established that. Now we need to see if he’s as stupid as he appears,” the male voice added.
Ethan sheathed his sword. Even though he hated to admit it, slashing through the air at spirits he could not see wouldn’t aid him.
Once his weapon was secured, Ethan started toward the water’s edge again. Without mishap, he managed to reach it, then he walked around the perimeter toward the cave behind the falls.
Yes, the opening was there just the way Molly had described. The sound of the crashing water around him was deafening now. For a while, Ethan made his way uninterrupted. Placing his feet carefully with each step on the wet stones that circled the pool’s perimeter, he hoped the spirits had flown off to bother someone more ignorant.
As he came closer to the cave opening, Ethan slowed his pace, for the rocks here were slick from the misting water all around him. Even the face of the rocks behind the falls showed signs of nature’s abuse, as the water’s path was marked by reddish-brown irregular stripes.
The pool itself was mesmerizing, the crystal clear surface more translucent than glass. The rocks under the surface looked like bright, oversized gems. Ethan stopped for a moment to gaze at them, wondering if they could be precious stones.
“What the—?” Before he could finish his question, he’d was shoved from behind. Breaking the clear surface he’d been staring at, Ethan panicked, fighting to get air. He thrashed about, trying to keep his head above the surface. His clothes, laden with water, dragged him down.
Chapter 39
The blood was worse than the wound, and once it was cleaned, Alasdair chuckled at the size of it. While he waited patiently for his injury to be bound with a clean linen wrap, the shock of Ian’s words cut him deeper emotionally than the laird’s sword had physically.
The Secret of Skye Isle Page 25